Transmission of data through a communications network has become a commonplace activity in modern life and business, for example when using a dial-in modem to access the internet through a dial-in server via the PSTN, or faxing documents to a destination fax machine or fax server. Indeed faxing is considered by most businesses to be a secure method of transmitting data, including confidential information. Documents to be transmitted are placed in an originating fax machine, the documents are scanned and the resulting data is rendered into a form suitable for transmission through a communications network, such as the PSTN. The address of the destination fax machine, typically its phone number, is entered into the originating fax machine, and the transmission sequence commences, typically by pressing a send button. The originating fax machine initiates a call through the communications network, the destination fax machine answers the call, and a data transmission session is negotiated between with the two fax machines. The destination fax machine then receives the data transmitted from the originating fax machine, renders the data into a form representing the original documents, and prints out copies of the documents being transmitted. Presuming the destination fax machine is known to the user of the originating fax machine, the transmission is as secure as the communications network over which the transmission occurs.
However should the user of the originating fax machine incorrectly enter the phone number of the destination fax machine, such that an unknown fax machine receives the data transmission, there is no means for the user to ensure that the destination fax machine is the intended destination. This may occur if a user inadvertently enters a wrong phone number to which a fax machine is connected; or the user may believe the destination number to be correct when, in fact, the number belongs to a party which is unknown to the user, for example if an incorrect fax number is distributed by a business to it's employees. This situation could result in confidential information being transmitted to unknown persons, with a consequence being the public divulgence of confidential information of a business or its customers. In some situations key information could end up in the hands of a competitor, or persons who might use the information for fraudulent means.
There remains a need therefore for an improved system, method and apparatus for controlling the establishment of a data connection from an originating data device.